


Red Rain and the Sacral King

by secretlytodream, yourlibrarian



Series: Reading Fan Vids [16]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Fanvids, Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 01:18:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15652821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretlytodream/pseuds/secretlytodream, https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: While theMerlinseries focuses primarily on the relationship between Merlin and Arthur, there is a larger arc about not just Arthur's destiny but those who guide him towards that.  Before he was the Once and Future King, he was a prince being trained to succeed his father.Also, part 1 of a discussion which involves the fan vid "Red Rain."





	1. Uther's Rival

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Red Rain](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/406047) by SecretlyToDream. 



Fanfiction of Merlin & Arthur has gone in a lot of directions over the years, and that's not even counting all the current period AUs (and the, unfortunately, less frequent stories in other historical periods). Even canon style stories have either taken them closer to traditional sources, fixed the many failings of the show, filled in gaps, or rethought how the story could have gone from the start.

They have also reconsidered what the Arthur & Merlin relationship was really all about. Especially after the first season I felt that Merlin had some much darker elements underneath it that the show almost resolutely ignored even while fandom extended grabby hands. And while the traditional canon certainly had plenty of darkness, I'd say that the premise of the Merlin series (not to mention how it was carried out) actually added more to what had initially been a story of mentoring and laying the groundwork for an Arthur who would rule much later after Merlin was gone.

And that's the problem. Merlin turned the Arthurian story on its head not by making Merlin the central figure, but by making him a contemporary of Arthur's with a destiny of his own that needed to be carried out _at the same time_. In the final episode when we discover that Merlin is immortal, Arthur's own story as both a person and a king fades even further into insignificance within a canon that barely let him develop this supposed destiny.

### The Problem of Predecessors

Merlin is not the only canon text that has this problem with a powerful predecessor to the central heroes. We could also look at Supernatural. It resolved the problem the way that most texts must, by either killing off or somehow having the predecessor out of the story in a very long term way. Otherwise the titled heroes have no chance of developing their own story or their own gifts if they are constantly being overshadowed, or possibly even having their heroic predecessor intervene. So in the case of Sam and Dean, finding their father was always going to be a problem because should they succeed, what then? How would John not take over the story given his personality?

In Merlin Arthur actually has two heroic competitors -- Uther and Merlin. We spend nearly four seasons with Arthur continually curtailed by his father, where his main growth arc is learning to confront Uther (though he mostly just tries to evade him). In the traditional tales Arthur has no such competition because Uther is dead before Arthur is of age and in any case he was not raised by his father. But here Uther is less an overbearing parent than a very difficult king. Their conflict lies in the fact that Arthur doesn't really agree with Uther in many instances. 

And sure, Uther has high expectations of Arthur, but then given everything he will have to face this is mostly a good thing. A lot of people are going to be looking to him for action and decisions one day, he needs to be prepared. If Uther weren't such an unjust person and instead we loved him as a king, hardly anyone would be criticizing him for holding Arthur to a high standard. (I should add that it is not just Uther's expectations that Arthur has to meet. Within their society there will be many people expecting things of him and many people he will be in conflict with. But given how ahistorical the series is there's no point in going into this.)

But of course because Arthur is not just a prince but Uther's son, their relationship is particularly conflicted and, (luckily for the audience), something that doesn't need a lot of spelling out because this is a situation that is widely understood. It is a rare AU that does not have an Arthur in conflict with Uther regardless of whether Uther is the very personification of evil or just an embarassing parent. One thing I have not yet seen though is a story where Uther's preparation of Arthur to lead, say, a family business ends up being justified because Arthur will care for the company and its employees in a way that a private equity firm taking it over will not, even if this is a destiny he _doesn't want_. (Someone write this!)

But returning to canon, Uther is trying to guide Arthur for largely practical reasons -- he's his heir. Also in play is his vanity -- Arthur is the largest part of his legacy. There's also parental concern. He wants Arthur prepared to handle his life and to live a long one; he does care about his son. Whatever his behavior we can generally understand Uther's thinking when it comes to Arthur, there are a lot of everyday elements there.

Not so Merlin. This Merlin is not the one we've traditionally seen. Merlin has never been the center of _Arthur's_ story. Even in folklore, Merlin was once an entirely different story which became grafted onto Arthur's because the Arthurian legends were the more popular tale. And even in, say, Malory, one of the key texts in Arthurian literature, Merlin's role is largely pre-Arthur. Instead it is Nimue who succeeds him as Arthur's advisor, and a Lady of the Lake predecessor is the one to give Arthur his sword, not Merlin.

### Merlin As Guiding Force -- Emphasis on Force

In Merlin he has his own set of problematic mentors, alternately Gaius and Kilgharrah. But Merlin doesn't continue dealing with both because he has any set obligation to them. Rather it's because he usually needs their help (although a bond does develop as well). But really, Merlin could, at any time, decide to go elsewhere as he almost does when Freya enters his life. Therefore enter the destiny, which Merlin begins to believe in and which ties him to Arthur

However as the canon makes clear at different times, Merlin is as much a creator of the destiny as he is subject to it. It isn't until the final episode that he really understands who and what he is, even as it is almost too late to do anything to change the end of Arthur's story. But that doesn't mean he hasn't been changing Arthur's story from the moment he met him. 

As time goes on and Merlin makes more and more decisions on his own, whether he does them on Arthur's behalf or not, he becomes a more intrusive figure. Arthur doesn't just become a secondary figure because he's in a show about Merlin, he also becomes a secondary figure within what has always been an Arthurian tale of a king who accomplished many things. Merlin wants Arthur to fulfill his destiny because to do so means Merlin can fulfill his own, and it gives his life meaning. For all Merlin's power, rather than exercise it on his own he chooses to do so largely _through_ his position connected to Arthur, meaning that neither of them ever really get credited with doing much and when they do it's usually not true (such as Arthur defeating Kilgharrah).

It is unsurprising that a good deal of canon-era fanfiction has chosen to make Arthur and Merlin more openly equal in the text. In some cases Merlin is another prince, in some cases he is a sorcerer who Arthur must treaty with, and in others he is a druid leader or legend who becomes Arthur's consort as another way of enacting peace between nations. Interestingly, I have rarely run across stories of Merlin as a current day prince (whereas there are many such stories about Arthur). I suspect this is because a current era AU can tell an entirely different story, whereas a canon era story has the original text to contend with as a jumping off point. And one major problem in that text is the way that Merlin exercises power unknown to Arthur and sometimes in opposition to him. 

The most horrifying example is in "The Sword in the Stone". I've never understood how the general fandom was not up in arms at what happens in this episode, where Merlin literally takes away Arthur's will. Yes, he's trying to save Arthur and leaving is the best option (though this is mostly because no one knows about his magic). But other ways could have been chosen. The fact that the whole thing is played for laughs and as a way of Merlin getting his own back against Arthur's inconsiderate ways only makes it worse. Merlin has just done the one thing that would likely terrify Arthur the most about magic -- and in a more legal sense, he has just usurped the king.

Many fics position Merlin's poisoning of Morgana as the thing he feels most guilty of and the thing that Arthur has the hardest time forgiving him for. I'm not sure I've seen one address his reaction when he discovered what Merlin has done here. Given that Merlin was trying to save the lives of everyone in Camelot during a crisis in which no one else could help, and that Arthur eventually sees the need to kill Morgana himself, I feel fairly sure that he could have come to terms with the poisoning. But what Merlin did in Sword was only to save Arthur, and he did it not only by giving Arthur no choice, but also by making him vulnerable in a way he would have resisted strongly had he been able to. The Arthur that was left was entirely dependent on Merlin for the simplest of decisions, and it's questionable whether he would have been able to defend himself had he needed to. He was, in every way, a puppet king.

What's more it didn't end there. Even after Arthur is himself again, he has been left deeply vulnerable by Morgana's success and Agravaine's betrayal. Merlin then enacts a second deception on Arthur with the sword and the story. On its own this could have been seen as a relatively harmless method to bolster Arthur's confidence and to finally deliver to him a weapon that has long been destined for his use. 

But in conjunction with what happened earlier, it comes off as a further decision on Merlin's part to force Arthur into a direction he wants him to go in. One has to question whether during this crisis Merlin would _ever_ have allowed Arthur to abandon his duties and take some time away -- whether to recover his sense of self or to decide on a different path. Because if Arthur is not king, then who does Merlin become?

Realistically, Arthur would likely have been bolstered by his feelings of duty when he reunited with Camelot refugees, or he would have been given support and confidence by his knights and other people he knows. But Merlin is leaving nothing to chance. He has twice returned Excalibur to the lake. He is now going to put it in Arthur's hand not only as a needed weapon, but as a symbol of their shared destiny. It's now or never.

### Merlin As Uther's Successor

To be sure much of what Merlin does is because he has developed a genuine devotion for Arthur the person. But that has literally been a secondary reason. Even while he pushes and pulls against his own mentors, he also steers Arthur as much as possible into a direction he wants him to go even when Arthur _might have made better choices_ if given the chance. The most obvious one is how he steers him away from accepting magic in Camelot during The Disir. And Merlin does this for reasons that Arthur never understands even in his final days. Arthur dies with no comprehension of everything Merlin's actions have entailed or why.

As much as Uther bullied and exhorted Arthur, and even locked him in the dungeon, he has never been capable of forcing Arthur to follow his orders. He can only apply pressure and guilt, and they probably both know that Uther can only go so far. Arthur is his only heir and he is unlikely to choose another. And whatever Uther does, Arthur at least understands Uther's motivations however much he might disagree.

Not so with Merlin. It is part of the show's text that Merlin's influence leads Arthur to become a better person and better prepared for his role as king. Merlin is clearly at odds with Uther and while he is not the only one who wishes for Arthur to make a break with Uther, or at least his policies, we are rarely in anyone else's head but Merlin's. So while Gwen, Lancelot, Gaius and others have a hand in developing Arthur's evolution, they have no specific underlying reason for it. With Merlin, there is one. 

So when Uther is out of the picture we do get Agravaine, but by then Merlin is well established in Arthur's inner circle. And despite the fact that the canon leaves it entirely offscreen, in "With All My Heart" we know that somehow Merlin has convinced Arthur that Gwen is under magical control. Given that Gwen is the only person with as much influence on Arthur as Merlin, I think it's not insignificant that Arthur believes him. (Not to mention that it was Merlin who pressed for Arthur to reunite with her and facilitated their romance in the first place).

While Arthur is clearly not a passive person by nature, he spends much of Merlin in such a position for various reasons: Uther is king; Merlin is going behind his back; and he's generally unable to deal with magic. Arthur is repeatedly forced to deal with powers he doesn't understand and to rely on unreliable advisors who undermine him repeatedly (Morgana's betrayal being only one of many). Even when he has the crown and his confidence in himself grows, a whole other story involving him is playing out without his knowledge. Merlin not only doesn't share his power, he also rarely shares his information.

Obviously Merlin has all sorts of internal and external conflicts going on as well, but canon tends to explore most of them because he's the central figure. We don't get as much of that with Arthur -- in fact, when we see Arthur in conflict it is generally Merlin who is advising him. 

All of which is to say that when I saw the story as laid out in Red Rain, what clicked for me was the idea of Arthur as the Sacral King, in the sense of an ancient practice of a [king being sacrificed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_king#Frazer's_interpretation) for his people as an embodiment of the fertility gods who die and are reborn with the seasons.

Merlin presents Arthur as the Once and Future King in counterpart to Merlin's druidic embodiment of magic, and in the final minutes of the series we are not only told of his return but we see Merlin waiting. But this part of the story is yet another late addition to the Arthurian tale. In Malory, for example, there is no such coda given to Arthur. The final parts of Malory's tale deal instead with Lancelot, his kinsmen, Guenevere, their deaths, Arthur's successor, the changes in Camelot, and the deaths of other knights who leave on a crusade.

So the fact that Merlin leans on this embodiment of a very old tradition seems fitting in this video which, if anything, not only reveals the vulnerability of Arthur as a person and symbolic figure, but also the complicated and not always neutral role of Merlin as the successor to Uther in Arthur's life.


	2. Reading Red Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discussion of the Merlin fanvid "Red Rain"

The comments below are a scene by scene review of [the Red Rain vid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuqFxexxpis&feature=youtu.be). The blockquote sections are comments by SecretlytoDream about her thought process in creating the vid. For more on the canon aspects of this video, see the previous chapter, Uther's Rival

In discussing the original concept behind this video with Maria, the idea was as follows: It was Arthur's look back at his life as he lies in death awaiting, possibly unknown to him, his return. It was a story about him from his own POV, and the focus would be on the violence and burden that Arthur always had to live with. This was partly the legacy from his father's reign as well as what led to his own death in battle. 

In a more philosophical sense, it's hard to escape the conclusion that Merlin hurt Arthur as much as helped him, both by undermining his authority in many ways, as well as hiding what was an incredibly powerful weapon for Arthur's arsenal that could have prevented a lot of death and violence had he only known of it and been able to harness it. Not to mention that the series undermines the whole legend of a wise king who brought peace and his learned advisor who helped him cement his kingship in the early years. We never really see much of Arthur's reign (it only happens in S5, in which it's more tell than show) and then it's just over while he's still in his 20s.

So the vid might unfold as a melancholy story of how Arthur never got a chance to fulfill his prophesied destiny, but the feeling we may be left with is that Arthur is actually better off in his watery grave than brought back to fulfill the expectations of others yet again.

The finished vid does embody many of these ideas, though it's even more emotional than I would have expected.

* * *

I love that this vid opens with candles, which, to me echoed the moment when we see the candlelight vigil later, and the idea of death and remembrance. There is also the ghost of modern-era Merlin appearing, hinting at where we're going. 

As Maria said:

> I really wanted to make a rather slow start to the video, so the first minute is basically an exposition of the whole Arthur story. I absolutely love the build up in the videos, when we don’t see the character right away, but rather we get to know the character’s surroundings first. 
> 
> This is what I tried to do here, hence the shots of Camelot, the flag/banner, sword in the stone, the crow, Merlin throwing away the sword – -all of these clips tell a story in and of themselves, to make the viewers think about what’s coming.

I particularly liked when with the clang at :13 we see the Tor at Avalon for the first time, the symbol of Arthur's death and return.

So it follows that we then see Merlin hurling the sword towards it, the symbol of their shared destiny, followed by the raven, which could be seen either to represent Morgana, death, or both since they were connected.

One of my favorite bits is when we see Arthur walking the hall when he is transitioning from prince to king. Given the nature of the vid I find it so symbolic that the colors change from white to red as he does, the period of innocence ending and the period of bloodshed and destiny underway.

> And then we see Arthur’s back in the dark and empty hall which turns into him right before his coronation. I think this symbolizes beautifully Arthur’s coming out as The King and finally finding his place (however short it was). 
> 
> And then, we see Arthur’s back –- again, we don’t see his face yet -- right before he’s mortally wounded, which is kind of the beginning of the video, because the music picks up at that moment. 
> 
> I think Arthur’s death in a way is the focal point of this video, so I wanted to emphasize that by putting that clip on that music bit.

We then see the simultaneous burden and undoing of his kingship as he turns in battle to block the attack only to see it's from Mordred. And the part that gripped me is that we then see this transition into his first meeting with Merlin. I loved the way this juxtaposition said some chilling things -- such as that it is Arthur's weakness that he trusts the wrong people and is too ready to forgive. But also new to me is the idea that it is Merlin's fault in many ways that Arthur ends up on that battlefield at that moment, unprepared to defend himself because of the history he's had with Merlin. That it was Merlin who paved the way for Arthur's undoing as much as his destiny.

> And the whole scene of Arthur fighting Mordred is paralleled with Arthur fighting Merlin –- one of those friends betrayed him and the other stayed loyal until the very end. I like that duality of Arthur’s life.

I think that sets us up for the moment of Arthur cleansing himself, the wound, the burden -- all suggesting that Arthur is a sacrifice of sorts. And then Merlin walks away from the sword he has set in the stone, a story he has created to lead Arthur to that destiny, as we return to Arthur in white and kneeling, the lamb to slaughter.

> The musical bit until 1:16 is basically a continuation of the opening exposition –- we see the sword, which I think is the epitome and symbol of Arthur’s reign, and then we see a glimpse of the end –- Merlin throwing away the sword and Arthur’s hand/arm reaching for it. I like how his life and death and, presumably, what came after, is interacting throughout the whole video.

Then we get the segments with the sword -- Merlin's hope for Arthur's return even as it is the close of his chapter, the tale of the sword dovetailing with the tale of his reign. We flashback to the moment when he takes it up, along with the shot of his armor, all those other times he fulfilled the duty put on him by others. Which is why I really like that moment of benediction Arthur gives to Uther, who was the first person to lead Arthur into duty. We see a moment of that responsibility weighing heavy on him, followed by the shot of Merlin regarding him. It makes this great argument that what Uther began, Merlin continued, even if Arthur never realized it. So we go back to Arthur kneeling, giving himself over to that path.

And then that lovely bit with the red cloth blowing in the wind, this temporary fragile thing, just part of a whole, buffeted by forces outside its control. There's something so vulnerable about that to me. In fact, that's the key word for me throughout this whole vid, is how vulnerable Arthur is. I think any Merlin viewer could recollect a few scenes off the top of their heads where Arthur was presented this way, but it was more "in the moment", in response to particular things. By contrast this vid suggests that it has always been the case, that it is the core of Arthur's life.

> And yes, I absolutely love that bit of the red cloth on the ground and then Arthur standing there. “The ground is still warm to the touch” –- for me it’s like his father’s death is still fresh but he has to be the King now. And then, “we touch” – how his and Mordred’s lives touched and we all know what consequences it had.

There can be no doubt that Merlin loves Arthur deeply -- even fanatically. But he also loves Arthur as a symbol, a means to an end. In many ways he is no different than Uther in this respect, who also for all his faults, loved Arthur, and died protecting him. Yet he also raised him to follow the path Uther had set out for him, preserving his own legacy.

So it's really interesting to then see this move into that moment, where Arthur is posed in a moment of decision (through the tapping finger). And then that leads into him extending his hand to Mordred! I found it fantastic the way this suggests that the one decision that Arthur made _on his own_ , which contradicted what Uther decreed and what Merlin himself was conflicted over, is what -- in terms of destiny at least -- led to his own death and downfall. There's the idea presented that he never had any chance of escaping it.

I liked how that moved into the moment when Merlin and Arthur's destinies entwined, when Merlin saves him from an action that was never about Arthur but about Uther's decisions. And right here is the instance where Uther, in his ignorance, basically hands Arthur over to Merlin even though he thinks he's doing the opposite. This moment is when Arthur will begin to move away from Uther's direction and towards Merlin's.

> I also thought it was fitting to show – again – the betrayal on Mordred’s part and Merlin trying to save Arthur. I also decided to keep the clip of the dagger hitting the chair, because I love how the two clips work together –- the dagger hits the chair and then Arthur stands up from the same chair, like a metaphor – because he’s made up his mind and he’s ready.

I thus like that this scene is followed by the one at 1:33 of Arthur standing in resolve only to see all the sacrifice that follows, for him and others -- his injuries from the Questing Beast, Lancelot's loss cementing his connection to Gwen -- as he accepts the crown. I like how the support from his people, the vigil and the applause, are both a source of strength but also of obligation. So we see him sacrificing himself by drinking the "poison" and Uther carrying him from the field. Merlin is there as rescuer but also incentivizer. I love that the "defenses down and the trust of a child" is played as Mordred stabs him and we see him sinking into the lake, and Arthur then gets up, shouldering these burdens, carrying that destiny.

> And then, “putting the pressure on much harder now” – I really wanted to show what Arthur had to go through before and during his reign, what he had to do to get there. And yes, “defenses down” – I think it was the very first clip I put on the timeline heh.
> 
> So, the hands in the water clips and Arthur drowning –- for me it symbolizes both his life and death. How he had to navigate through murky water to see who were his friends and who weren’t, that’s why the water clips are juxstapositioned with his coronation, getting the sword, basically coming into his true role. And then the clip of the two cups symbolizes him and Merlin actually, because the story of Arthur is so closely tied together with Merlin’s. That’s why the following is the clip of an “old” Merlin coming to Arthur in his last moments. And then the clip of Merlin’s hand reaching into the water is like him reaching out to Arthur, with the guiding hand, helping him out.

I also saw this as a symbol of how Arthur's rise to kingship is all of a piece with Merlin standing by his side -- it was never something he did alone, even as we see him dressed for battle, joining his advisors, and back on the battlefield. I like that the "can't watch anymore" goes with Merlin's tears in which he is truly in agony at the thought of having failed Arthur, and yet it is then that Arthur is faced with perhaps his greatest betrayal, as he realizes he never really knew Merlin at all. There he was, from the moment Arthur emerged that morning as king, and it leads to him later drawing the sword that Merlin planted for him. Love and manipulation all of a piece.

Then we get the symbolism of (one of the two cups) falling, the body going limp, the sword returned to the lake, destiny playing out. I love the musical timing of that too, the "splash" of the sword matching the cymbals in the music. 

I also liked the bitterness of those shots of soldiers at attention, the crowd applauding as his body is carried, Arthur fulfilling the myth of the sacral king.

> At the 3 minute mark I wanted to continue that theme of Arthur navigating through life, his coronation, people cheering and some darker times. Arthur’s close up and Merlin’s, on fire, like a bright light in Arthur’s life, but at the same time very dangerous.

We then see the leaves blowing at 3:02, devoid now of the scrap of cloth, and Arthur raising the sword, seeming more in resignation than glory. And finally we see Merlin first sending the boat off and then seemingly calling it back in present day, with Arthur awakening and stepping back across the spiritual threshold.

> At 3:21 I added that echo-blur effect to the video, especially on the clip of Arthur opening his eyes –- it’s like the echo symbolizes his rebirth, his life in the modern time.

I like that we see the back of Merlin at the end in the same way that we saw the back of Arthur at the start of the vid. The Merlin who was and then the Merlin who is, with Arthur approaching -- what would he be thinking? I like that we see Merlin from the back suggesting that person is both familiar and yet unknowable to Arthur.

That final shot of Merlin is so powerful to me -- complicated and heartbreaking and ominous. I think that the musical fade into softness is like a thought trailing off, the idea of what comes after the moment of silence when Arthur and Merlin finally meet again.


End file.
